


The Egg Thief

by AMidnightDreary



Series: FrostIron Bingo [3]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: BAMF Tony Stark, Dragon Tony Stark, M/M, Panic Attacks, Pining Loki (Marvel)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-24
Updated: 2019-08-24
Packaged: 2020-09-25 22:35:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20379229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AMidnightDreary/pseuds/AMidnightDreary
Summary: Loki does not expect the heat that greets him as soon as he enters the workshop.He also doesn't expect the dragon.





	The Egg Thief

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Leikio](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leikio/gifts).
  * Translation into 中文-普通话 國語 available: [【霜铁授翻】偷蛋贼the egg thief](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22241026) by [FloraFangfei](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FloraFangfei/pseuds/FloraFangfei)

> Look at this, Leikio!! I finally managed to write it! It's not exactly like your prompt, I think, but I hope you like it anyway!💕
> 
> **Square filled: ** G3 - "What gave it away?"

Loki does not miss people. That is a general rule he has been following his entire life - well, not his _ entire _life, but ever since he figured that nobody would miss him if he was suddenly gone, so why should he miss them? So, no, Loki doesn't miss anyone. He most definitely doesn't miss Tony Stark, who doesn't join the Avengers in their battles anymore.

Loki is just slightly disappointed to have lost a halfway decent opponent. The other Avengers are so horribly boring, and none of them has a penthouse and drinks they are willing to share with Loki, no matter that they are enemies. None of them would greet him with a crooked grin and an offhand remark about tardiness and pop culture. None of them would tease him or ask about his most recent prank. None of them…

Loki does not miss Tony Stark.

His teleporting into the penthouse does not have anything to do with concern, either.

He looks around the room, eyes narrowed, then goes to check the kitchen, the dining room, he even knocks at the bedroom door. The penthouse is empty. He carefully calls Stark's name, but it's JARVIS who answers, and Loki mutes him with a wave of hand. The AI has orders to let Loki into the penthouse, and apparently that hasn't changed, but apart from that they aren't that fond of each other. Loki isn't in the mood to listen to any excuses or lectures right now.

He _ knows _ that Stark is in the tower. (Loki's using a spell to find the human doesn't have anything to do with concern or something equally ridiculous, either.) And if he isn't in the penthouse in the middle of the night, he is most likely in his workshop, so that is where Loki heads next.

He knows where the workshop is, even though he has never actually seen it. JARVIS doesn't want him to go there, apparently, because Loki needs to persuade the elevator to bring him downstairs with a bit of magic.

Loki does not expect the heat that greets him as soon as he enters the workshop. He also doesn't expect the dragon, but well.

Sometimes you just see things that are so entirely impossible that you immediately accept them as reality, because there just is no other explanation. And while Loki is aware that only very few things are actually impossible, _ this _ is one of them, and so it has to be true.

There is a dragon in Tony Stark's workshop, and that dragon does not take kindly to intruders.

Loki swallows thickly and stays exactly where he is, eyes fixed on the creature. He hasn't seen a dragon in a long, long time. In most realms, they are long extinct. Svartalfheim, Niflheim and Helheim didn't have any in the first place, the last dragon of Jotunheim died a few thousand years before _ someone _ destroyed the realm, the dragons of Asgard and Vanaheim were killed in wars. There are still some dragons left in Muspelheim, and the Ljósálfar have peace treaties with the light serpents of Alfheim. (The first and last dragon Loki saw was one of them; a long and brightly blue one without wings, slithering through the night sky as if swimming through a sea of stars.) And Midgard…

The dragons of Midgard are a mystery.

Nobody has seen one in eons; the last one was sighted so long ago that humans believe them to be nothing more than fairytales and myths. But here Loki is, in this tower in New York, and what he sees is most definitely a dragon.

It's huge, taking up about a quarter of the broad room. Tables and machines - many of them look broken - have all been carelessly swept aside to make enough room for the dragon to lie down and stretch. It looks vaguely like pictures Loki has seen in Midgardian storybooks. The scales are a deep red, the color glistening in the dim shine of the overhead lights like freshly spilled blood. The dragon has horns, two on his head and then some trailing down over his back all the way down to the tip of his tail, and they gleam and shimmer orange and golden. For a moment, Loki believes they are made of fire. Throat and chest gleam like that, too, burning coals beneath the scales. 

Yes, right. Fire breath.

The dragon's golden eyes stare right back at him, bright and more intelligent then the eyes of any other animal Loki has ever seen - then again, dragons are not animals. They are something else. Also, coincidentally, the most dangerous beings in the Nine Realms.

This is not the safest situation Loki has ever found himself in.

"Good evening," Loki says, because being polite is always good when you are confronted with a possible opponent that could rip you apart with very impressive claws. "I'm sorry, I didn't know you were residing here, otherwise I would never have…"

The dragon starts to growl.

Loki clears his throat. "I was looking for Anthony Stark. I didn't mean to…" He trails off.

Stark. _ Anthony. _

Oh, norns, please - _ please, let him be fine. _

The dragon blinks slowly, and after a moment it lifts its head and cocks it to one side, looking Loki up and down. Only that allows Loki to catch a glimpse of what is resting between the dragons - also very impressive - front legs, and what he sees cannot possibly true.

Which means that it is, of course.

An egg. The dragon is hatching an egg. In Anthony's workshop. The dragon is hatching an egg in Anthony's workshop and dragons that hatch eggs _ anywhere _ should not be perturbed, because dragons that hatch eggs are very protective and very very deadly, and - _ please let him be fine, please _ \- nobody who disturbs a dragon that is hatching eggs survives the encounter and Loki is _ not _ panicking -

Ah, who is he even kidding.

He is definitely panicking.

But he has a quick mind, thankfully, and he is not helpless.

Many ways this could go. Too many of them end in death or in awful injury and then death, there is exactly one that would end in absolute safety, but he can't just teleport away without knowing if Anthony is fine, so there is only one thing - _ leverage he needs a leverage _\- he can do, so -

He steals the egg.

Doesn't make the situation any safer, but at least he has the egg now, summoned into his hands with a spell that the youngest mages can already master, which means that the dragon is a, very young, b, very stupid or c, very certain that it is fast and strong enough to kill and so doesn't need to protect his egg from magic.

Anyway.

Loki has the egg.

It's not bigger than his head and feels like a warm and heavy stone in his hands. Bright red marble. For a moment, he is overwhelmed by it - a dragon egg, he is holding a _ dragon egg _ -, but then he regains his wits and looks back at the dragon with wide eyes.

The dragon hasn't killed him yet, at least.

Loki swallows.

"I don't want to hurt it," he says, "I'm not going to. I just need to know if -"

He is interrupted by an odd noise that, so he quickly figures out, comes from the dragon. It still sits exactly where it has been sitting the entire time, only that it has straighten, the horns on his head almost hitting the ceiling. The tip of its tail is flailing in the air and the chest is heaving and also still gleaming, and there are two dark and thin smoke columns rising up from its nostrils. The noise Loki can hear sounds like a growl and then again not, it's too erratic and almost high pitched, too much like _ wheezing _.

He stares just for a moment, still holding the egg in his hands. He flinches when JARVIS' voice sounds from the ceiling.

_ "Sir, you are both safe, I promise. But you have to change back, otherwise the risk of the arc reactor failing is too _ \- _ " _

The dragon's tail lashes out one last time, and then the dragon changes.

Loki keeps staring, mouth falling open, until the dragon is not at all a dragon anymore but a _ man _, lying on his side on the floor and yes, definitely wheezing. Loki almost drops the egg when he recognizes him.

_ "Sir, are you?" _

"I'm fine," Tony Stark - _ Anthony _ \- snaps, "fine, fine, I need -" He props himself up on his elbow, eyes searching the room frantically until they settle on Loki. "You _ bastard. _"

He is up on his feet before Loki can even open his mouth, and a second later Anthony stands directly in front of Loki, moving much faster than any human could. He snatches the egg from Loki and cradles it in his arms, runs his hands over it, makes sure that it wasn't harmed.

"What the _ fuck _ is wrong with you, you - you can't just go around _ stealing dragon eggs _, you asshole! What if -" He cuts himself off, breathing harshly. The arc reactor in his chest flickers.

"Anthony," Loki whispers. He doesn't manage anything else at first.

Anthony's eyes are still golden. The tips of his hairs gleaming like the dragon's horns, blood red scales scattered over his shoulders and arms.

"You," Loki gets out, "_ You _ are the -"

"Finally figured it out, didn't you?" Anthony snarls, showing teeth that are much sharper than a human's. "What gave it away? The wings? The scales? The _ fucking egg?!" _

"I didn't know -"

"Of course you didn't know! Nobody knows! Why are you even _ here? _And why the hell did you take my egg?!"

"I hadn't seen you in weeks!" Loki hisses back, getting defensive. "They said you were _ away for business _ , but clearly you aren't, and then I get here and see a _ dragon _ in _ your workshop! _ I thought you were -"

He presses his lips together, glaring down at the human who is not in fact a human but a dragon.

"Oh my god," the dragon says. "You were worried. _ You _ were _ worried _ I -"

"I was not!"

"Ah, no, _ no _, don't lie! You were! You thought I ate myself!"

"I didn't know it was you, of course I -"

"And then you took the egg to, what, to get me to spit myself out again?!" Anthony tucks the egg under his arm and throws his free hand up in a vague gesture of _ you are insane and I can't deal with this right now _ , which is a gesture Loki is pretty familiar with. "Awesome plan, really! Amazing. Brilliant. Do something like that _ one more time _ and I _ will _ fucking eat you, I promise."

With that, he turns on his heels and heads to where the dragon was sitting earlier. Naturally, Loki follows him.

"I didn't know it was you," he says sharply, "and you can hardly blame _ me _ for stealing your egg when you didn't even protect it properly! You -"

Anthony swirls around again. His free hand grabs Loki by the collar, pulling him close - Loki's heart does _ not _ skip a beat, not quite, and definitely not because the closeness is thrilling, why would it even do that? -, and Loki is fiercely reminded that this is still a _ dragon _ and much stronger than he is

"First of all," Anthony says lowly, "stop that manipulating bullshit, it was _ not _ my fault. Secondly, I didn't protect my egg against your magic because you are my _ friend _ and I didn't know you are a goddamn egg thief!"

_ Friend. _

Oh.

Well.

"Step back," Anthony snaps, then simply pushes Loki a few steps back. "I'm gonna change back."

Seconds later, the blood red dragon curls himself around his egg again, tail moving in a way that seems _ slightly _threatening; he is still angry. The golden eyes are fixed on Loki.

"Shapeshifters," Loki murmurs. "Midgardian dragons are shapeshifters."

Anthony rolls his eyes, and then - _ You're a bit slow today, aren't you? _

Loki flinches so hard that he nearly falls to the floor. He needs a few seconds to pull himself together, but then he swallows and says, "Telepaths, too, it seems."

_ You'll be an expert on the topic in no time _, Anthony deadpans, his voice clear as day in Loki's head.

Loki stares at him for a long moment. "Do you want me to leave?" He asks then.

The dragon lets out a sound that is probably a sigh. _ No. You probably have a million questions, right? _

"Well, yes. Of course."

_ Right. And I - I mean, I could use some company. I've been sitting here for weeks. Come over here. If you want. _

Loki blinks at him, but after a moment he tentatively approaches Anthony, who follows Loki's movements with his eyes.

_I don't bite, you know._ _Well, unless you get anywhere near my egg again._

"I won't," Loki promises. He slowly sits down on the floor, a few steps away from his - friend. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

_ Scare me _ , Anthony repeats, tone mocking and bitter at once. _ Gave me a freaking panic attack. _

"I'm sorry," Loki says again, and actually means it. He lets his eyes wander over Anthony's rather impressive form again. There are a few scales missing on the dragon's chest; Loki can see what looks like deep scar tissue. Loki is so relieved that he thinks he might actually die. "I have to admit, I did not expect this."

Anthony doesn't say anything, he merely rolls his eyes again.

"Does anybody know?"

_ Rhodey _ , Anthony replies. _ He comes by once a week. _

"But the other -"

_Just Rhodey and you._ _Nobody else knows._

Loki smiles. "Your secret is safe with me."

_Yes, fine. Whatever._ _Let's talk about the fact that you were worried again, alright?_

"Oh, I don't think so," Loki says lightly. "I would rather get answers to some of my questions, first."

_ You're not really in the position to make demands here, you know. _

"I'm reasonably sure that you will not try to eat me anytime soon."

_ Yes, but I'm hatching an egg _ , Anthony reminds him. I'_m very moody. _

Yes, the egg. Well, one thing at a time. "How old are you?"

Anthony sighs again, sounding just as dramatically word weary as he does sometimes when he is in his human form. _ Older than you _ , he answers. _ But not by much. _

And then he simply tells Loki everything. About how he was stolen from his mother when he hadn't even hatched yet, and how he found his mother dead when he looked for her later. About years and years and years living as a human, in relative safety, about becoming Anthony Edward Stark due to odd and complicated circumstances, and about finding this egg of his and swearing to protect it with his life.

"What will you do when it hatches?" Loki asks, fascinated - but also concerned - without end.

_ He _ , Anthony corrects. _ Dunno. Raise him, I guess. Protect him. _

Loki swallows. "Are there any other dragons who…"

_ I haven't seen them in a long time. I think we're on our own. _

_ No, _ Loki thinks, but doesn't say. _ You are not. I can help. _

A few seconds pass, then Anthony says, _ That's very kind. _

Loki, after being confused for a second, glares at him. "Don't do that."

_ What? _Anthony asks, sounding far more innocent than he is.

"Do not poke around in my head."

Anthony makes a sound Loki hasn't heard before. It sounds suspiciously like a purr. _ Sorry, Princess. Won't happen again. _

Loki frowns at him for a while, then asks, "What is your name?"

_ Er, Lo, you know my name. _

"You are not the human you pretend to be, therefore the name of that human is not your real name, either."

_Oh._ _I don't have another, though. I wasn't given one when I hatched._

Loki doesn't like that. He moves closer and carefully leans against Anthony's side, waiting for the dragon to push him away. He doesn't. 

"Anthony, then," Loki says, a little absently. Anthony's scales feel warm and soothing against his back. "I do like that name."

Anthony turns his head, far enough that he can look at Loki. _ What happened to 'Stark', anyway?" _

Loki hums, thoughtful. "I'm afraid he was eaten by a dragon."

_ Oh no. _ Anthony rests his head on the floor and closes his eyes. The egg is safely tucked away between his front legs. _ What a pity. _

Shortly after, he starts purring again.


End file.
